U.S. Coast Guard pulls over Chevy truck

The National Post (Canada) ^ | 2003-07-25 | National Post news services

[DTA]

U.S. Coast Guard pulls over Chevy truck in Straits of Florida 12 Cubans aboard ═

National Post news services

Friday, July 25, 2003

WASHINGTON - The crew members of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter could not believe their eyes.

Chugging along at a steady 13 kilometres per hour in the Straits of Florida was a bright-green 1951 Chevrolet truck with 12 Cuban migrants aboard.

The ingenious craft was kept afloat by 12 250-litre drums strapped to its sides. The wheels were still in place and the engine was running, turning a propeller attached to the drive shaft.

There was even a captain at the wheel.

"We've seen surfboards, pieces of Styrofoam, bathtubs, refrigerators. But never an automobile," Petty Officer Ryan Doss of the U.S. Coast Guard said yesterday.

The Coast Guard was called in after a U.S. government plane spotted the truck last week in the Straits of Florida, about 64 km south of Key West, just more than halfway between Cuba and the United States.

The Coast Guard took all the passengers on board. Then they sank the vessel, deeming it "a hazard to navigation."

A photograph taken by the Coast Guard shows the craft cruising on calm seas.

Several men, all wearing bright red life jackets, sat on top of the green truck. The other travellers, who included two women and one child, were apparently riding under the bright yellow canopy that covered the back of the vehicle.

Since Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution, desperate Cubans have tried to flee the Caribbean island on rudimentary rafts, on the inner tubes from giant trucks, in stolen boats and planes, even by windsurfer.

In recent months several planes and boats were stolen or hijacked by people trying to reach Florida.

Under the U.S. immigration policy known as "wet foot, dry foot," Cubans who manage to set foot on U.S. soil are usually allowed to stay, while those stopped at sea are routinely sent back to Cuba.

This meant the 12 Cubans who had exhibited such painstaking ingenuity in turning the truck into a boat got no marks from the United States for their creativity. They were automatically barred from entering the country and were returned to Cuba on Sunday.

The following day, the United States returned a group of people who had hijacked a boat to leave the country after Havana agreed to limit jail terms to 10 years for any found guilty of illegal migration. The boat was intercepted at sea last week.

In March, six Cuban migrants landed their homemade boat on guarded U.S. Navy property in Key West, then wandered the streets downtown before authorities caught them.

[DTA]

>>>>>>Bummer - they sunk a classic!>>>>>>

That's what happens when GM unhappy customer has a gun and GM vehicle to vent off.

[daviddennis]

This was already discussed on several threads.

The Freeper consensus, which empathetically includes me, was that they should have let them land. There is no excuse for the government's conduct in this case.

D

[Nowhere Man]

This is a shameful policy which should be terminated at once by Bush.

Yeah, I'm for tight immigration control and so on but anybody that really goes out of their way to do this to come to America, well, they are OK in my book and should stay. Given the fact that they were fleeing Castro and a hostile regime, they should have stayed here. Plus if these guys are that mechanically inclined, we can use them. B-)

[mhking]

Don't you know that open containers are not permitted behind the wheel?

HMB/Bizarre PING....

If you want on or off this list, FReepmail me!

FYI: This has fast outgrown it's original "charter" and become a home for the truly bizarre. An alternative saying/phrasiology is being sought (and suggestions are very welcome!). Also, like it's "cousin list" the B/C list, it has become a high-volume list.

---

I'm leaning toward "Just damn," on the suggestion of quite a few folks. I won't make a decision until Sunday. (And thanks to all of you for sending your suggestions!)

[bedolido]

Already posted here... Brave people, too bad they sent them back.

[camle]

they been watching "Junkyard Wars". this sort of thing was done on that show.

it's a crying shame that the USCG sank the truck.

[HairOfTheDog]

Ping!

[Consort]

My friend thought about getting the Chevy Optional Amphibious Package, but it was too combersome and expensive to repair. Besides, he lives in the desert.

[IYAS9YAS]

Um, judging by the pic in the post below yours, it is most definitely a Chevy.

[IYAS9YAS]

Monster Garage or Junkyard Wars...

[El Sordo]

And to do so with such ingenuity!

[Catspaw]

It's a '51 Chevy, no less.

Anyone who can turn a '51 Chevy into a functioning boat has the creativity and ingenuity to stay in the US as far as I'm concerned.

[azhenfud]

I wouldn't doubt Old Navy would love to have gotten a hold to that one - it was an old navy truck.

[ChadGore]

I saw, let them stay.

[Eala]

and were returned to Cuba on Sunday.

So what's the likelihood they're still alive...?

[FreeInWV]

I say let them earn their citizenship with a 4 year stint in the USMC. These men appear to be able to adapt, overcome and improvise. They have what it takes to be marines.

Those trucks sure are solid. My grandfather had one. The air conditioner was a fan on the dash. The wipers sucked, literally. They were vacuum driven. They didn't work unless you drove fast, which is pretty hard to do in a 50 yr old truck.

[TigersEye]

I'd take my '59 Chevy truck anywhere! Mine's not bright green though. It's turquoise green.

[Huck]

I was busy and missed the threads. When I heard the news on the radio, I was interested to know what freepers thought.

[azhenfud]

I had one of those - the wipers worked best when letting off the gas while leaving the clutch engaged.

The six volt system never quite suited me for reliability.

Sold the thing too early....

[COBOL2Java]

They pulled over the S.S. Ted Kennedy!